This Is A Nice guy!

I love Samuel Adams beer.

After reading this story, I love it even more.

Background - for those that don't follow craft brewing, there is a severe worldwide hops shortage at the moment. To the point were some brewers are changing recipes or just not brewing a particular beer.

Read on.

Well Of Course They Did . . . . .

Exxon report record fourth-quarter profits (again).

$11.66 billion.

In one Quarter.

Of course, the yearly profit is a record too.


That is fucking obscene.

Yeah, I know capitalism, free market, rah rah.

BULLSHIT!!!!

This money was made on the backs of the people, off raping our environment, courtesy of the Bush Administration.

I consider them War Profiteers.

Turn some of that money into health care, or food for the poor, or education.


Paint me Red, Capitalism can suck me.

Goodbye Riley Ann

I have nothing snarky to say. I'm sitting here at my computer at 6:15 in the morning with tears streaming down my face.

I just read the police account of Riley Ann Sawyers death. This is a local story that has garnered some national attention.

On October 29th, a plastic storage container was found washed up on Galveston Island with the body of a two year old little girl. Her skull had been fractured, and she had other injuries as well. Local police were calling her "Baby Grace"

I won't go into the account of her death, it's all here.

The killers were her mother and step father. A full confession has been given.

How?

Why?

I look at this picture and I can see my own daughter at that age in that face. Who could do this? Who?

I wasn't going to rant, but let me say this:

All you fuckers out there who claim to be "Pro-Family", yet don't want gays to marry or adopt ask yourselves this -

Would little Riley-Ann have been better off in a loving home with two fathers who cherished her? Or two loving mothers?

Damn, this is not a good way to start the day.

For you Riley Ann:

Laurel Wreaths For Everyone

I love the smell of sweaty running shoes in the morning, ......

It smells like VICTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The last cross-country meet of the year was held Saturday morning. It was the District meet, with the top finishers (Varsity level only) moving on to the Regional and State meets.

The boys had to be on the bus at 5:00 AM. I had enough time to go home and have coffee, shower and get in the car to make the almost 2 hour drive.

I am thrilled to tell you that the District meet was a rousing success!!!! Not only for Sir Robin's squires, but for the teams as well.


Cross-Country is somewhat of a unique sport in that (at least around here) it is the only sport where Jr. High and High School compete at the same events. All year long these kids from 7th grade to Seniors have been arriving at school at 5:45 AM, 4 days a week to run and then loading on buses at the butt-crack of dawn every Saturday morning since school started to go to a meet together. It is great for the younger kids because they feel so important going with the big kids. In turn, the high schoolers really support the younger ones and it is a true team spirit in this, the most individual of sports. It takes a great deal of dedication to get up and run 4 miles every morning before school and then have an after school practice as well. These kids all share the pain of training together and it shows at the meets.

Well, on to the results!

#2 son ran on the Freshman team and placed 7th. (The top ten in each level receive medals)
#3 son ran on the 8th grade team and placed 4th.
If they were varsity level that would advance them both to the regional meet.

In the team standings, it was almost a clean sweep for our teams. The top 6 finishers on each teams scores are combined for a team score. There are boys and girls teams for 7th, 8th, Freshman, Junior Varsity and Varsity. With the exception of the girls JV who took third, every other team we entered took first place.

There was much rejoicing.

Am I proud?

Yes I am!!

Why Does This Happen?

This ABC News article not only shocked me, it made me nauseated. I actually had to go wash my face and drink some water after reading it.

From the article:

According to a number of studies, homicide is one of the leading causes of death for pregnant women in the United States. Studies in Maryland, New York and Chicago determined that about 20 percent of women who die during pregnancy are murder victims.

You read that right, the number one killer of pregnant women in America is homicide. It goes on to say the killer is almost always the father of the child.

My regular readers know I ended an unhealthy relationship earlier this year. I still love her, and had she ever been carrying my child I would have been elated beyond words. I can't fathom this. I know that violence against women is an often shamefully unreported issue in America. But this, this truly sickens me. To think of a man killing the woman he loves and his own child is just beyond my ability to comprehend.

The women the article points out are all white. I wonder how the actual numbers break down; is this a white phenomenon, or is the media just typically covering it in the "missing white woman syndrome" way. I suspect, as with serial murders, it is more prevalent in white men.

I thought I had a lot to say about this, but words fail me. They seem very inadequate.

"I Need To Check Your Eggs"

Mark Foley has nothing on Ted Klaudt (allegedly).

Klaudt, a Republican Representative in the South Dakota Legislature has been charged with 8 counts of rape. Five girls have come forward with allegations, but so far, the charges only involve two of the girls.

From the Argus Leader:

He's accused of performing "ovary checks" and "breast exams" under the guise that he was helping young women donate their reproductive eggs, according to court records.

What?

Hello?

Is that what they call it now?

Dude, it’s a good thing you live in South Dakota, because that line ain’t gonna fly in pretty much any place but Hicksville and Appalachia.

FSM, where do I start?

Ok, first of all, why do the Republican sex scandals seem to have a disproportionate amount of molestation, rape and “closet” homosexuality? Shit, at least Monica was of age and a willing participant. (discloser - I was going to make the above sentence link to appropriate scandals, but there were just too damn many to choose from. If you are really interested, just type Republican Sex Scandals into Google, you will find freaky shit you never even heard of, I promise!!)

As long as the Republican party makes all sex “illicit” and women’s bodies “dirty nasty things” we will continue to see this type of perversion from the “Family Values” party.

OK, you may think that was harsh. You may say, "Well, Brave Sir Robin is jumping to conclusions, this is bad, true, but he's really coming down on this guy." Well to you I say:

There’s more.....

The girls were his FOSTER CHILDREN!!!

Shit!

Dude, Woody Allen thinks you crossed the line!!

Bloody hell, Foster children and (of course), legislative pages! I guess he was auditioning for a National office huh?

Go read the article, this bastard is one nasty, sick misogynist asshole.

Family values my ass.

Wake up America, there is no honor left in the party of Lincoln, it has been hijacked by sick, perverted, greedy, power hunger corporate whores.

Brave Sir Robin feels the need to shower after writing this post.

So Long, Jerry

Jerry Falwell, now part of the Silent Majority.

wev

Melamine Story Update

I'm sure that at least 90% of the people who read my site read Litbrit either at her own site or at Shakesville, but if you don't you should.

She has been doing an unbelievable job of following and posting about the broader story of contaminated food from China and the FDA's inability to correct it.

If you eat, you owe it to yourself to go read her here.

And here.

FSM bless you Litbrit, thank you for your perseverance in this matter.

Well, ..Just, ..Hell!!

It turns out, even skinny people are fat!

Who knew? Even people who appear thin may have hidden fat deposits around vital organs, which can still lead to heart disease and diabetes according to a recent study at Imperial College, London.

According to the data, people who maintain their weight through diet rather than exercise are likely to have major deposits of internal fat, even if they are otherwise slim. "The whole concept of being fat needs to be redefined," said Bell, whose research is funded by Britain's Medical Research Council.

Here's the kicker -

"Even people with normal Body Mass Index scores -- a standard obesity measure that divides your weight by the square of your height -- can have surprising levels of fat deposits inside."

So all you skinny people can start to worry like the rest of us. Even naturally thin people need to exercise.

Ewww!

Ewww!

Ok the yuck factor on this one is pretty high.

I’m not generally one to get creeped out by crawly things like bugs and snakes and rodents. I will pluck beetles off my tomato plants, or caterpillars off the herbs, no big whoop. Spiders, on the other hand …. Uhg! I know they are beneficial, and yes I adored Charlotte’s Web, but they just give me the willies. Sorry.

So you can imagine the nightmares this story is going to give me.

Nine year old Jesse Courtney’s earache turned out to be two spiders living in his ear.

Go read it. Look at the pictures. Be grossed out all day.

Seriously!!! WTF!!!!!!!

Have you seen this? Apparently the Federal Government has a database listing everyone who has ever been prescribed anti-depressants?

I love this observation the author makes:

We don't even have a list of gun owners, and we have a list of everyone who has been prescribed anti-depressants?

Jeebuz, does anyone know anything about this? Has it always been this way, or is it a recent aka "war on Terrorism" development?

That must be a pretty damn big list.

When You're Living in America .........

“He was a loner.”

How many times do we hear this after a tragedy such as happened this week in Blacksburg Virginia? Didn’t you just know that was coming?

So you know what I wonder? Was he (or any of the loners who commit these heinous acts), driven to become a killer because of the inherent loneliness of his life, or was he a loner because he was already messed up and capable of such an act? In other words which came first?

It strikes me as ironic that in such a populous society, people can be so lonely. I understand loneliness very well. It is a daily part of my life as well. That is not to say I don’t have friends, I do and I see them often, yet in my day to day work/kids/housework/repeat cycle I go days at a time with no true meaningful adult conversation. I’m sure that is one of the reasons I stayed in an unhealthy relationship for so long. A less than perfect relationship is better than the loneliness of no relationship.

Do you know your neighbors? I speak at least weekly to the neighbors on either side of me. If you go more than a couple of houses in any direction, I don’t know them or speak to them. I live in a small town, and I have lived in this house for over ten years. I’m sure it must be worse in large cities. Is my situation typical? I suspect so.

Jonathan Larson hit on this concept so well in RENT.

Disparate individuals creating their own community. –

What Was It About That Night?

Connection-In An Isolating Age

For Once-The Shadows Gave Way To
Light

For Once I Didn't Disengage

Why is it so easy to isolate ourselves? Do we just have so many comforts and entertainments in our homes that we don’t need to seek out our neighbors?

Does the internet and comment threads help or hurt?

I don’t know.

I know one thing, Hillary was right when she said, “It takes a village.” Would a support group of close friends have stayed Cho Seung-Hui’s hand? Maybe not, but I strongly suspect that had he felt that he “fit in” and had a group of friends to vent to, he may never have gotten to this awful breaking point.

Do you get a squeeze of lime with that?

In a headline that Konagod can Love, agave may be good for your colon!

It doesn't involve drinking it however.